Article handling apparatus



Oct. 30, 1945. H. H. MERWIN .ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 29, 1944 INVENTOR' H. H. MERW/N ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 30, 1945 ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Harry H. Merwin, Rutherford, N. 1, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 29, 1944, Serial No. 542,646

6 Claims.

This invention relates to article handling apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for hoisting articles. V An object of the invention is to provide an article handling apparatus which includes a. simple, eflicient and highly practical unit for engaging, lifting and releasin articles.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises an article handling apparatus including a movable unit having an element formed of interconnected relatively movable parts normally disposed to support an article and movable relative to each other to free the article from the unit.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is .a fragmentary front elevational view of the apparatus shown in engagement with an article;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view taken substantially along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, portions thereof being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a lateral sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

.Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, portions thereof being removed to illustrate, more clearly, the connections of the members.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral l designates a hoisting or lifting element which is connected to any suitable means (not shown) for moving a unit, indicated generally at I I, vertically in a given path. In actual structure guide means is employed for the unit to restrict it to its given path but to illustrate the invention without hiding it beyond these other features of the structure, namely the guide means and hoisting means, they have been purposely omitted.

'Ilie element 10 has an enlarged portion 12 at its lower :end and extends through an aperture M in a .head t5 of the unit ll. A single leg l6, formed for interfitting engagement, :as at H, with the head I5, is fixedly mounted upon one side thereof as at 48 and projects downwardly therefrom, itsinner surface curving outwardly at l9 near the lower end thereof. A. pair of legs .20,

similar in contour to the leg 16 but smaller in central portionthereof being receivable in the cavity or spacebetween the legs of the unit. The article 26 maybe of any desired contour, it being preferred that its connection with the handle 25 be rigid.

A shaft 39 extends through aligned apertures in the lower portions of the legs 20 and beyond one of the legs a sufficient distance to support a lever 3|. The lever 3! extends upwardly and is pivotally connected, as at 32, to a core 33 of a solenoid 34. The function of the solenoid will hereinafter be described, it being understood, however, that it may be energized at will through the closing of an electrical circuit (not shown). The solenoid is supported by a bracket 35, the latter being mounted as at 35 'upon the head IS.

A lever-like element, indicated generally at 38, includes a member 39 which is U-shaped in cross section, the lower extended portions of legs 40 thereof being apertured to receive the shaft 36. Aligned apertures are also provided in the upper portions of the legs 40 of the member 39 to receive the ends of a shaft 42. A companion member 43 of the element 38 is also U-shaped in general contour, the legs 44 of which are positioned between the legs 40 of the member 39 and are provided with aligned apertures for mounting upon the shaft 42. The member 43 is free to rotate upon the shaft 42 and is normally urged into engagement with the central portion of the member 39, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 4, through the force of a helical spring 45, one end of which is fixed as at 46 to the adjacent le 40 of the member 39, the other end 41 being fixed to the member 43. The central portion of the member 43 has a concave article engaging surface 48 adapted to engage the handle 25 of the article and thus support the article.

Attention .is directed to the relationship of the center lines .of the shaft 30, the shaft 42 and the central portion of the handle 25. Normally, the center line of the shaft 42 is beyond dead center of the shaft 3.0 and the handle 25 to cause the element 38 including the members 39 and 43, to normally act as a solid structure. A spring 59, having one end connected to a pin 5| of the member 39 .and the other end fixed as at 52 to bracket 53 supported on the head I5 through the aid of the bolts 22. normally urges the element 38 so that its upper end, namely the upper portion of the member 43 thereof, will engage the inner wall of the leg I5.

The means for tripping the .element 38 includes the solenoid 34, its core 33 and the lever 3| which controls the actuation of the shaft 30. An arm 55, disposed between the legs 40 of the member 39 upon the shaft .30 and fixed to the latter, is positioned to engage the central portion of the mem Upon considering now the operation of the apparatus, let it be understood that the element In is movable vertically between given limits and that it may be held at these limits for desired lengths of time. To illustrate the apparatus, let it therefore be assumed that the article 26 is to be raised a given distance and then released and allowed to drop onto a suitable support. The article 26 may be of considerable weight and it is therefore important that it may be freed from the apparatus Without excess strain or damage either to the article or to the apparatus.

With this in mind, let it be assumed that the unit H is disconnected from the handle 25 and is at a desired position above the handle and the article attached thereto. By moving the unit H downwardly, the legs thereof will straddle the handle 25 aided by the rounded portions or surfaces [9 and 23, the singl leg l6 being positioned uponone side of the handle while the pair of legs is positioned upon the other side thereof. During this downward movement, the element 38, laying diagonallyacross the space between the legs of the unit, will engage the handle and be moved thereby about its shaft as a solid element until the central portion of the head l5 engages the handle. When this has occurred, that is, as soon as the member 43 of the element 38 has moved downwardly beyond the central portion of the handle, the element will be moved inwardly through the force of the spring to position th pocket or surface 48 to serve as a support for the handle and thus for the article. The article may at this time be elevated to a given height by moving the element l0 together with the unit I l upwardly. When the article has reached the desired height it may be released through the energization of the solenoid 34. As a result of this action, the core 33 of the solenoid is drawn inwardly, moving the lever 3| clockwise to rock the shaft 30 and with it the arm 55, which moves the member 39 from th solid line position (Fig. 4) to the dot and dash line position thereof, to thus trip the element 38. The weight of the article 26 applied to the member 43 through the handle 25 is sufficient to hold the member 43 against movement with the member 39, but instead the member 43 willpivot about its shaft 42 against the force of the spring 45 until the shaft 42 is moved beyond dead center, that is, at the 0pposite side of the present alignment of the centers of the shaft 30 and the handle 25, thus allowing the article to drop freely from the unit. After the element 38 has been tripped through the energization of the solenoid 34, the article dropped, and the solenoid deenergized, the element 38 will again be moved into its normal position through the force of the spring 50, the member 43 of the element having been returned to its normal position through the force of the spring 45 and allowed to rest upon the inner surface of the leg I6. The unit is thus automatically set to again engage and lift the article 26. The contour of the pocket or surface 48 in the member ,43 assures positive holding of the article through its handle during the lifting or elevating movement, and further assures quick releasing, of the article when the element 38 is tripped.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it W111 be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. In an article handling apparatus, a movable unit including members positioned to straddle an article, an element pivotally, mounted adjacent its lower end to one of the members and having pivotally connected portions normally extending diagonally upwardly to close the space between the members and support the article on the upper end thereof, means to elevate the unit and the article, and means to cause relative movement 10 of the portions about their pivot to free the arpivotally support the upper portion, means to pivotally connect the lower portion to one of the members to normally position the elementdiagonally to close the space between the members, means to elevate the unit and the article, and means to cause relative movement of the portions about the pivot to free the article.

3. In an article handling apparatus, a movable unit including members positioned to straddle an article, a pivot, an element having an upper portion to support an article and a lower portion connected to the upper portion b the pivot to thus pivotally support the upper portion, means to pivotally connect the lower portion to one of the members, means to normally urge the element to close the space between the members, means to elevate the unit and the article, and meansto cause relative movement of the portions about the pivot to free the article.

4. In an article handling apparatus, a movable unit including members positioned to straddle an article, an element pivotally mounted adjacent its lower end to one of the members and having pivotally connected portions normally extending diagonally upwardly to close the space between the members and support the article on the upper end thereof, means to elevate the unit and the article, an energizable solenoid carried by the unit, and means actuated by the solenoid when energized to cause relative movement of the portions about their pivot to free the article 5. In an article handling apparatus, a movable unit including members positioned to straddle an article, a pivot, an element having an upper portion to support an article and a lower portion connected to the upper portion by the pivot to thus pivotally support the upper portion, means to pivotally connect the lower portion to one of the members. to normally position the element diagonall to close the space between themembers, means to elevate the unit and the article,

an energizable solenoid carried by the unit, and means actuated by the solenoi when energized to cause relative movement of the portions about the pivot to free the article.

6. In an article handling apparatus, a movable unit including members positioned to straddle an 

